With a Looming Midterm Disaster Ahead, Trump Tells MAGA to Use Their Imagination and Pretend He’s Still Running
The 2026 midterm elections are shaping up as a major test for Republicans, who are working to hold onto their majorities in both chambers of Congress. Turnout has long been a concern for the party in elections where Donald Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot, and this cycle is no exception.
That concern has taken on new urgency as Republicans look ahead to November. According to The Daily Beast, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey conducted in February found that 85% of people who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 said they were certain to vote in the midterms, compared with 70% of Trump voters. Among Trump voters, another 19% said they would probably vote, while 10% put their odds of turning out at only 50-50.
Donald Trump is reportedly asking supporters to treat the election as if he were personally on the ballot. During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump addressed the turnout concern directly.
Trump has a simple message for MAGA voters
“There’s a theory that when Trump’s on the ballot they win, when he’s out of the ballot, the people don’t go to vote. I’m asking the people to get out and vote and pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump said. Trump has made similar arguments when Republicans have struggled at the polls, including after previous elections when he suggested that his presence on the ballot could have changed the outcome. He made a similar case after a previous Republican loss, when he argued that his absence from the ballot had hurt the party in his ‘throwing ketchup’ remarks.
Hannity previewed the remarks during his Wednesday night program, with the full interview, which also includes former Rep. Trey Gowdy, scheduled to air Sunday night. Trump has directed his political operation to frame the November elections as a referendum on his presidency. The report cited an earlier Atlantic account of an Oval Office meeting where Trump discussed plans for television advertising centered on his second-term record.
That strategy has drawn some pushback from Republican strategists, given that Trump’s approval ratings have been weak on several issues, including the economy. Some in the party have questioned whether centering the campaign on him will actually help candidates down the ballot.
Trump has also faced questions about how he views the upcoming midterms. Trump has also been questioned about his plans for the 2026 midterms, including when he gave a ‘Who told you that?’ response to a question about the elections.
Trump had made a similar appeal before the Hannity interview. At a rally in South Carolina on Aug. 21, he urged voters to imagine him on the ballot while campaigning for Darline Graham in the state’s Republican Senate runoff.
Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to temporarily fill her brother’s Senate seat following his death in July. She then faced Rep. Ralph Norman in the Republican runoff for the GOP nomination. Trump endorsed Graham and campaigned alongside her before the vote.
Hannity has made his own case for turnout separately from Trump’s appeal. He has argued that Republicans need to hold both the House and Senate to continue advancing Trump’s legislative agenda through the rest of his term.
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